Humans
Mon, Aug 10, 2015
As a scholar of software engineering with a particular interest in the field of ubiquitous computing and artificial intelligence, the recent series by AMC, “Humans” really did peak my interest. Is it something based on sensationalism or alternatively something that could be considered grounded in reality? Well, I believe that it is a drama that reflects more on the latter than the former. I really like the concept so far and it raises questions that only academia have explored in detail before movie studios love; concepts such as artificial understanding, consciousness, love, and the projection of human traits upon non-human subjects (anthropomorphism).
Sure, the movie industry have toyed with a multitude of these concepts with many dollars flowing in at the box office but what Humans does is ground these in such mundaneness, run of the mill reality, that I really like the play with boundaries, the grey line that the whole programme is toying with. What defines humanity and what distinguishes it from an imposter? What is the point in humans learning when machines can do it much better? Maybe more importantly do the majority of people, the Joe Bloggs of the world, care about the gap in what is possible with strong AI and what is human; a posit that I believe will be in the forefront of minds for the next 50 years.
In short, I really do like Humans so far.